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Excerpt: "Budget 2021 is the culmination of decades of tireless, dedicated efforts of many to recognize the benefits of early learning for every Canadian child and the value of child care in supporting families. Investment of $30 billion over five years, starting in 2021-22, and $9.2 billion going forward, will bring the federal government’s annual contribution for early learning and child care equal to that of the provinces and territories. Included in the amount, is $2.5-billion to expand and improve early learning and care for Indigenous families."

MEd in Developmental Psychology and Education student, Astha Bathia.
Expected year of graduation: 2021.

Défis et richesses des classes multilingues. Construire des ponts entre les cultures.

Excerpt: "The Province is making major investments in 2021/22 to improve sustainability of the child care system, create child care spaces and give parents and caregivers more child care options to meet their needs. These investments include: $2.4 million in ongoing operating grants for 2,992 licensed nursery school spaces as part of the transition to a fair and equitable single funding model for all nursery school programs. As part of the new funding model, 96 nursery school programs (1,674 spaces) will receive an increase to their annual grant amount; $1.5 million in operating grant funding for 541 licensed spaces including 149 licensed spaces from capital projects which are targeted to open in 2021/22 for a total of over 2,600 new spaces by the way of capital projects receiving funding annually since 2016/17; and $95 thousand in operating support for 50 new home-based licensed child care spaces in 2021/22. To date, 225 spaces will have been opened over four years."

Excerpt: "The federal government is using its spending powers to incent provinces and territories to participate. Budget 2021 commits to new investments totaling $30 billion over the next five years, including $1.4 billion for Indigenous families. After that an annual commitment to $9.2 billion, with $385 million ongoing for Indigenous programs, raises the federal contribution to early learning and child care to the equivalent of what provinces and territories now spend.

Budget 2021 signals a bias for non-profit/public delivery and clearly directs funding to program operations to support quality and access and to reduce fees, rather than payments to parents. It moves away from the current market approach to a view of early learning and child care as a public good."

The Atkinson Centre promotes research on child development, and the development of early learning policy and practice that serve young children and their families.

In their April 8 talk, Professor Michal Perlman and her team highlighted the challenges in understanding parents’ perspectives of early childhood education and care services.

The Atkinson Centre promotes research on child development, and the development of early learning policy and practice that serve young children and their families.

Excerpt: "Today, the government announced the creation of an online portal called Parent Central to help parents or caregivers find and access licensed child care, information, programming or services for children from the ages of zero to six. "Our government remains committed to supporting families with necessary access to quality child care in their communities," Education Minister Dustin Duncan said. "This new website will help families find these services nearest to where they work or live.""

Excerpt: "Budget 2021 will: More than double the number of children who can get care for $10 a day or less through an expansion of the Universal Child Care Prototype Program. This investment will add 75 more child care centres to the program, increasing the number of spaces by approximately 3,750; Help more families access child care on school grounds by expanding the Seamless Day pilot program from four school districts to 24; Support approximately 11,000 ECEs in licensed child care centres, and encourage better recruitment and retention in the sector by doubling the ECE wage enhancement to $4 an hour..."

Excerpt: "There is agreement, across the political spectrum, that early learning and child care is the national economic policy we need now.

This is social infrastructure that will drive jobs and growth. This is feminist economic policy. This is smart economic policy. That is why this budget commits up to $30 billion over five years, reaching $8.3 billion every year, permanently, to build a high-quality, affordable and accessible early learning and child care system across Canada.

This is not an effort that will deliver instant gratification. We are building something that, of necessity, must be constructed collaboratively, and for the long-term.

But I have confidence in us. I have confidence that we are a country that believes in investing in our future; in our children; and in our young parents. Here is our goal : Five years from now, parents across the country should have access to high quality early learning and child care, for an average of $10 a day.

I make this promise to Canadians today, speaking as your Finance Minister and as a working mother: We will get it done.

In making this historic commitment, I want to thank the visionary leaders of Quebec, particularly Quebec's feminists, who have shown the rest of Canada the way forward.

This plan will, of course, also provide additional resources to Quebec, which might well use them to further support an early learning and child care system that is already the envy of the rest of Canada, and indeed, much of the world."

Dr. Emis Akbari, discusses the development of the Early Childhood Education Report Benchmarks.